TECH/EXTREME PROG METAL

While the band would release its first self-titled demo as early as 1998, it wouldn't be until 2003 that PORTAL its first bonafide album "Seepia" hit the scene which showcased the band's unique display of seamlessly merging the worlds of technical death metal with the atmospheric bleakness of black metal. Unconventional arrangements, eerie atmospheric backdrops and a bombastic explosive delivery of blitzkrieg instrumentation made "Seepia" stand out like a sore thumb in the world of death metal that had in many ways become more formulaic as it became more popular. While the debut delivered a thunderous display of avant-garde death metal wizardry, the band was not happy with the outcome citing that the desire to weave in the atmospheric elements was unsuccessful due to the incessant pummelation of the senses displayed by guitarist Horror Illogium, original bassist Werm and drum abuser Ignis Fatuus.

The band spent the next few years honing its craft with a couple EPs before unleashing its masterwork, OUTRE, a title that literally means bizarre, eccentric and freakishly bizarre. This sophomore album found PORTAL coming of age with a much more expansive approach that took the world of technical death metal even further down the avant-garde rabbit hole. By this time the band had expanded to a quintet fronted by the eccentric chief growler The Curator who freakishly donned an executioner's mask. Aphotic Mote joined Horror Illogium as the second guitarist and likewise bassist Elsewhere and newbie drummer Monocular joined the PORTAL team to craft one of the most startlingly mondo bizarro death metal dominant albums that the early 2000s had to offer. While initially inspired by the likes of Morbid Angel, Beherit and Immolation, PORTAL had expanded its sound into a world all its own which was as dystopian and far removed from what many would deem traditional old school death metal as one could possibly fathom at this point.

OUTRE wastes no time establishing its atmospheric presence with the short dark ambient intro "Moil" which cedes to the dissonant noise ferocity of "Abysmill" by implementing the same aggressive bombast as "Seepia" but with more nuance. While "Seepia" was a blitzkrieg of excesses, OUTRE immediately establishes an immediate emphasis on crafting a streamlined horrorscape of sound that features a more controlled restraint. A concerted effort to give each instrument its own role is the biggest leap of ingenuity on OUTRE with slow creeping bass lines, snare drum repetition and twin guitar dualities including slow slinking moments closer to doom metal than the world of frenetic death metal. The album also offers dark ambient interludes that connect tracks and place them into a more logical cohesive context which allows the Lovecraftian themes to bask in their own marinated ebullience. While the focus on atmosphere may have been firmly established, OUTRE refused to jettison the bantering sonic onslaught of fast reckless guitar riffing and resolute devotion to adrenalized speed rushes.

The band also developed menacing guitar tones that coupled with noisy production values offered and even further detachment from conventional death metal techniques, a term that some have referred to as "caverncore.". Even The Curator's vocal growls defied death metal conventionalities and lay somewhere between the emphatic raspiness of avant-garde black metal bands like Deathspell Omega and the guttural growls that death metal enthusiasts had become accustomed to. Attention to slower oozing bleakness as the emphasis allowed the aggressive elements to offer a more intricate contrast which heightened the surreal soundscapes even further. The use of varying tempos and moments of sluggish vagrancy allowed the atmospheric constructs to pierce the din and cast an overall tension that "Seepia" lacked. The album finds oddball moments such as the 2 1/2 minute title track that escape the world of all established metal norms and features a noisy display of unnerving chaotic din only to be followed by the most aggressive moments on "13 Globes" which reprise the "Seepia" styled pummelation effect only dripping in compositional unconventionalities and atonal dissonant guitar assaults.

In all its aggressive dissonant din OUTRE proved revolutionary in crafting a strange new style of death metal based extremism that utilized the technical aspects and abrasiveness of the world of death metal and married it with the atmospheric potentials that the world of black metal offered. The album straddles a strange line between many strains of metal and even adopts some of the characteristic of war metal in a battle-like procession into strange Lovecraftian realities where everything familiar seems twisted, mangled and intangibly mutilated into unrecognizable yet discernible patterns of technical wizardry. OUTRE is the album that put PORTAL on the world's stage and it has become one of those landmark moments that prognosticated an entirely new strain of dissonant death metal bands that would follow. In the 2020s this may not sound as extreme with bands like Ulcerate, Gigan, Pyrrhon and Ad Nauseam having followed the lead but back in 2007 when this was released it really did take extreme metal into some of the strangest places yet experienced. This one is a grower. It took me a while and many listening experiences to wrap my ahead around it but after several years of soaking it in, i have to say that is is a cream of the crop release in the world of avant-garde metal.

Morningrise is an album that my opinion has changed drastically over time, being the second album by Opeth (my favorite band), Morningrise was an album that I already loved, but which I currently think is the weakest the band has ever made, the least inspired, the messiest and certainly the least consistent, the debut, Orchid, is not perfect, it is quite flawed in fact, but because it is such a substantial album, I end up loving it, what makes Opeth, Opeth is there, less developed, but with the band proving the bright future they had.

Their second release is the last album from the melodic black metal phase and the band last album to feature Johan DeFarfalla on bass and Anders Nordin on drums and percussion, with a total of 5 songs (6 if you count the bonus version) with them all having lengths of 10+ minutes, with the way I'm describing them, all the songs are pretty flawed, right? well.

The album starts with Advent, and Advent... is fantastic... absolutely fantastic... holy [&*!#], what a way to start an album, this song catches all the mistakes of Orchid songs, the lack of structure, direction and cohesion, and corrects them, I say without a shadow of a doubt, that this song is better than any of Orchid, and one of the best that Opeth has ever done? Wait, brother, are you saying all this even though you think the album is weak??? yes, continuing, Advent is a wonderful start, the mix is ​​much better than in Orchid, Mikael and Peter release riff after memorable riff that is very melodic, Anders Nordin gives a great performance, and Johan... man, I really like Martín Méndez bass, I really like it, I started to appreciate the guy more, but Johan has a stunning bass performance, very creative and mesmerizing the way he plays, an aspect that is worth praising about Morningrise which is much better than in Orchid, are the acoustic, they are more present and certainly fit better, the more macabre and atmospheric feeling of the acoustic is less present, but something more melancholic and eclectic, which is certainly an interesting change, an aspect that would be present in the other albums, With that, I would say that Advent is the culmination of this formation, an incredible song that even though it's 13 minutes long, it doesn't seem like it, it's all very well structured, and very well executed, this song has some of the most powerful rhythm sections that Opeth has ever done, and so, the track ends, with a quiet acoustic, slowly fading away... incredible track, and then comes the next one, The Night and the Silent Water, you know? One thing that Morningrise gets a lot right and that I like is... how lonely and melancholic the songs are, and The Night and the Silent Water further intensifies this feeling that Advent established, it's less fast and more mid-tempo, giving even more emphasis biggest in acoustics, this one in particular has a sad story behind it, it's about a relative of Mikael who ended up dying during the production of the album, he wrote a lyric in honor of this relative, it's one of the most beautiful and saddest that Opeth already did it, with Mikael vocals sounding more ethereal, as if we were seeing someone's memories, and then, the music becomes more powerful, sadder... and the final part arrives, with the most beautiful acoustic that Opeth has already played, the percussion slowly returns, the melodic riffs are more present, with Mikael singing the following lines.

''Yet the night and the silent water Still so dark''

In a macabre way and full of pain, and then, the song ends, with another quiet and solo acoustic...

THE BEGINNING OF MORNINGRISE IS AMAZING, the band has evolved a lot, the songs finally have structure, the acoustic is better implemented, the riffs are more interesting, Johan has his best performance as a bassist ever, and everything is very atmospheric, beautiful, 2 incredible songs, so why? Why is Morningrise my least favorite, with all this praise? weeellllll... here things get more complicated...

and the next song is, Nectar, and... Orchid problems came back, where, where's the structure, where are the well- implemented acoustic sections, where's it? where is the formidable consistency of the other songs... yes, Nectar brings back what made Orchid flawed, and that wouldn't be a problem... if it were an Orchid song, but it isn't, it's a song from an album that brought 2 extremely competent compositions that solve the problems of the previous album, Nectar simply doesn't compare to how good Advent and The Night And The Silent Water were, it's the most forgettable of the album and the lowest point an Opeth performance has ever reached, What saves it is Johan DeFarfalla's performance, which is surprisingly his best here, the ending has a bassline that, oh, is awesome, but otherwise, the weakest on the album.

The next song on the album is the penultimate one, the ambitious Black Rose Immortal, simply the biggest song Opeth has ever done in their entire career, 20 minutes long, and it's better than Nectar? Yes, it's better than Nectar, actually quite competent but... the song suffers from something that I'll talk about later.

it's quite adventurous, going into several different sections, slower or faster, Mikael gives a very interesting performance on the vocals here, making it sound like an epic poem, there are a lot of really good riffs here, and Anders Nordin performance is his best here, but even with all that, I can't think that she comes close to the first 2 songs, Black Rose Immortal is ambitious, and going back to what I said about what she suffers, and that's where it is, it's 20 minutes of an Opeth song, and this is a huge weight for this song, I love it when Johan bass is so present in one part, but I don't really like half of it, I love Mikael and Peter's riffs in many parts, but others I just don't care, I love the part where there's only Mikael vocals, as if he were a ghost... do you see the problem? Black Rose Immortal is a song with very good sections in the middle of sections without anything interesting, which sound drawn out, uninteresting, it's an inconsistent song that also inherits from Orchid's problems (and interestingly enough, Black Rose Immortal WAS supposed to be an Orchid song, this has been confirmed, so... yeah...)

Hmpf, going from 2 amazing songs to 2 pretty weak songs was a more disappointing deal than play Megaman X6, and then, the last song arrives, To Bid You Farewell. the first soft song that Opeth ever made, after this drop I had low expectations with a very critical eye, but I can easily say that To Bid You Farewell is my favorite soft Opeth song, bringing back everything that Morningrise got right in the 2 songs, unexpected, I know, anyway, this is an absolutely beautiful song, the acoustic is well implemented, the vocals are ethereal, structurally great, with the jazz elements being very well fitted, and then, after powerful riffs, the song ends with an acoustic and drums along with Mikael's voice, in a hypnotic atmosphere, with Mikael finishing the song with these following lines.

''Why can't you see that I try When every tear I shed Is it for you?''

and then his voice disappears, and just like that, Morningrise ends...

It's easily Opeth weakest point, Morningrise is an album that I have mixed feelings about, a amazing start, with a disappointing half, and a very good ending, this album had a lot of potential to be even better than Orchid, better production, better lyrics and Advent and The Night and the Silent Water being perfect, with a sharp, inconsistent, but fascinating things, Morningrise is the lowest point in Opeth career, it's a good album, in the middle of masterpieces, I keep listening him and appreciating it, but he had potential, he had, good album, but Opeth weakest album.

It´s been quite a few years and albums since My Dying Bride released anything which surprised the fans of the band (the last time was with the release of "Evinta" in 2011), but My Dying Bride actually used to be (pre-2000) a pretty experimental death/doom metal act in terms of developing their music greatly between releases (the first five studio albums are quite different in sound and style), while still staying on the path of their trademark death/doom metal style. After 2000 they´ve released many high quality releases, but also a few less inspired ones. The latter are still quality releases, which could easily be other death/doom metal artists masterpieces, but when you set the standard as high as My Dying Bride have done throughout their great career, the fans also have very high expectations each time a new My Dying Bride album hits the streets.

"A Mortal Binding" is not one of the most unique nor is it one of the most adventurous My Dying Bride releases, and as a listener you get pretty much what you expect. So all the ingredients of a My Dying Bride album are in place. Lead vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe switching between death metal growling and darkly poetic goth tinged clean vocals, heavy doomy riffs and rhythms, atmosphere enhancing keyboards, and melancholic leads delivered by both guitars and violin. What "A Mortal Binding" does different than the last couple of releases is the focus on rhythm. My Dying Bride were always a relatively rhythmic death/doom metal act, but the return of Mullins has definitely pushed My Dying Bride in a more rhythm focused direction. So it´s not all just long droning power chords and slow minimalistic drumming.

The sound production is more raw, less polished, and more immediate than the last couple of releases, and at this point it´s a relief to hear that My Dying Bride still have a bit of grit in them. Opening track "Her Dominion" is the best example of that, as it´s a pretty heavy death metal track solely featuring growling vocals. Although other tracks on the album also feature death metal growling, "Her Dominion" is however a bit of the odd one out track on "A Mortal Binding", and I´d say the remaining tracks are more in line with what you´d expect from post-2000 My Dying Bride material. Highlights include "Thornwyck Hymn" and the 11:22 minutes long "The Apocalyptist", but as always My Dying Bride are impressive in terms consistency, and there´s nothing on this album, which isn´t quality material. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

With a broader and less complex approach than the one presented in 'E', this can be, and should be, related to the concept behind 'Utgard' since it deals with the realm of dreams, where giants dwell and gods don't rule. However, this amplitude and liberation generate a multitude of immersive riffs ('Homebound') that create an enveloping and attractive atmosphere, a seductive device to enter the realm of the subconscious.

After a Nordic chant in the opener 'Fires in the Dark', Enslaved are really starting to provide evidence that they want to bring the lyrical and intellectual concept to the music itself with 'Jettegryta'. Much more than just mythology, even touching fields of psychology, tracks like these send abysmal sensations, all between peaks and valleys, an insane roller coaster that proves how good Enslaved are in building landscapes via sound.

And because I must justify why the band keeps surprising us, Enslaved's passion for psychedelic rock is unmistakable because of the keyboards, but especially because of the electronics on 'Urjotun', an unusual track in Enslaved's spectrum which has a post-punk drive and pays homage to bands like Kraftwerk and Hawkwind. Further on, with 'Storms of Utgard', there's still room and time for a Pink Floyd-ish solo, which, for the most attentive, is something less rare in Enslaved albums.

Over 44 minutes, these Nordics show us the ability to create progressive music in 4-6 minutes, in which the structures are different from each other, either with calmer parts with acoustic guitar or with robust avalanches of sound that bury us without warning, thus creating an experience of different sensations in a few, but intense, minutes.

Amidst this sensory whirlwind, which is heavy and tortuous, there's also a beautiful dichotomy between growls and clean vocals - the screams being related to the black metal side and the clean vocals to the melodic and progressive metal -, something that's not only discovered with vocals but also because of the way the songs sound in each part: while the most extreme wing is cohesive, tight and fast, the melodic parts are more broad and friendly, and it's perhaps in this field that Enslaved best show their technical skills because they necessarily have more room to dedicate themselves to detail.

In short, as much as 'Utgard' can be said to be a less complex record, the truth is that it's full of background atmospheres supported by keyboards and orchestrations created to give a very muscular body to a set of grandly atmospheric songs. Final challenge for those who are about to listen to 'Utgard': Enslaved don't know how to make bad music.

Stylistically it´s also a continuation of the relatively brutal (for the time) death metal style Supuration initiated on their 1990 releases. Supuration have a bit more up their sleeves than your regular death metal act though, and there´s a progressive edge to their music (including the use of keyboards and clean vocals), which was quite unusual for the time. "Isolated" is culled from the August 1991 "Promo tape '91", while "Sultry Obsession" as far as I can hear is culled directly from the 1990 "Sultry Obsession" demo/EP. "The Creeping Unknown" is culled from the 1991 "The Creeping Unknown" single (but ultimately also comes from the August 1991 "Promo tape '91").

As the case is what almost all of Supuration´s early 90s releases, "Isolated" is a good quality death metal release with progressive leanings. Although the material are culled from different releases, the sound production on all three tracks are relatively well sounding (considering that this is early 90s demo/single/EP death metal recordings). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Both the title track and "Sojourn In The Absurd" are good quality death metal compositions with a progressive edge. Powerful growling vocals, intriguing riffs and rhythms, melancholic lead guitar work and an overall interesting atmosphere. The sound production is of a good quality too, so upon conclusion "The Creeping Unknown" is another intriguing release from the early 90s Supuration catalogue, which is well worth investigating. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Stylistically the two tracks on the single is death metal with progressive leanings. It´s still primarely rooted in old school death metal but Supuration are not content with just playing straight forward death metal and their songwriting is pretty adventurous and eclectic for the time. Clean futuristic/robotic vocals (on "In Remembrance of a Coma" they are more of the spoken variant) compliment the growling death metal vocals, and the music features both keyboards, clean guitars, and a good portion of tempo-changes and compositional shifts in direction.

"In Remembrance of a Coma" is the more regular Supuration track of the two tracks on the single, while "1308.JP.08" is quite unconventional sounding like a death metal song where the songwriters have listened to a lot of Voivod and Killing Joke. It´s a pretty odd track, but certainly intriguing. The material is well produced and this is overall a good quality single release from Supuration and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

"Empheral Paradise" is a track showing the many different elements of Supuration´s sound from this period. Both thrash- and death metal riffing, tempo-changes, occasional doom/death heaviness, atmospheric lead guitar work, growling- and futuristic/robotic sounding clean vocals, eerie keyboards, and a generally unconventional and adventurous approach to death metal songwriting. "Reveries Of A Bloated Cadaver" is a slightly more brutal and death metal oriented song, but of course that track also features one or two progressive inclined moments.

Qaulity wise I think "Empheral Paradise" is the better composition of the two, but "Reveries Of A Bloated Cadaver" is still a good quality track featuring the unique sound of early Supuration. The sound production is of a good quality, although the clean guitars on "Reveries Of A Bloated Cadaver" sound a bit "off" in the mix. Considering that these tracks were culled from a demo the sound production is just fine though. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

So it´s now established that "Promo tape '91" is a seminal release in Supuration´s discography. But not only that...it´s also a high quality release showing the world the unique and sometimes progressive oriented death metal style of early Supuration. They would get increasingly more progressive from 1993 onwards, so the material on "Promo tape '91" is a chance to hear Supuration while they were still predominantly a death metal band toying with progressive songwriting ideas, rather than the other way around, which became the norm for them after 1993.

Featuring no less than eight tracks and a total playing time of 30:31 this could almost have been Supuration´s debut album if a label had opted to release it. Instead the promo tape was send to various labels shopping for a recording contract. The sound production is also of a high enough quality for this to be put out as a label release instead of a demo. I´ve heard much worse sound productions on official studio albums. So upon conclusion "Promo tape '91" is a high quality demo recording and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Stylistically Supuration play a rhythmically varied and for the time brutal type of death metal, but featuring both thrashy riffs and progressive songwriting ideas. Eerie sounding keyboards suddenly appear and there´s also some Voivod Sci-fi influenced dissonance and futuristic "robotic" clean vocals. This is still first and foremost a death metal release though, and the progressive songwriting ideas only occur here and there as spice and atmosphere enchancing moments. Supuration would further develop their style over the next couple of years and release a highly progressive death metal debut album in "The Cube" (1993).

Upon conclusion "Sultry Obssession" is a very impressive EP release from Supuration. Considering that the material is culled from a 1990 death metal demo it´s quite advanced in the songwriting department, and there´s some high level musicianship on display here too. Add to that a near-professional studio sound production and "Sultry Obssession" comes off quite intriguing. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).